Flint Lawmakers Calls for Investigation of DEQ

(MPRN-Lansing) A Democratic state lawmaker from Flint is asking the Legislature’s Auditor General to look into how the state Department of Environmental Quality handled the city’s water crisis.

State Senator Jim Ananich says there’s evidence that DEQ ignored warnings about elevated lead levels in the city’s drinking water, and then tried to cover it up.

“I think we have to get to the bottom of how folks in the drinking water division could do everything in their power to hide the truth from the public,” said Ananich, “and that’s pretty much what they did.”

Ananich said he would also like to see legislative hearings on what went wrong in Flint.

A DEQ spokesman says the department welcomes and will cooperate with the audit. Governor Rick Snyder has also said he will convene an independent panel to investigate.

"Michigan’s top environmental official acknowledged the state made mistakes in its handling of Flint’s long-running water crisis, and said changes would be made, including reassigning a top official responsible for the safety of drinking water." (Detroit News)